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require

verb

Simple meaning

Naturally to demand as indispensable.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

reekwyer

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹikˈwaɪɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Naturally to demand (something) as indispensable; to need, to call for as necessary.

  2. To demand, to insist upon (having); to call for authoritatively.

  3. Make someone do something

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Naturally to demand (something) as indispensable; to need, to call for as necessary.

Used this way, require is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use require

  • “We require our secretary to be on time.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

require specialrequire furtherusually require

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • requirementnounDerived noun · specialist

    Required activity.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • required coursenounCompound term

    A course that all students are required to take.

  • as requiredadverbCompound term

    According to need (physicians use PRN in writing prescriptions).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: naturally to demand (something) as indispensable

wantnecessitateinvolveneed

Antonyms

Sense: naturally to demand (something) as indispensable

obviate

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.